Small Business Guide - Small Business Resources
    (Add to Favorites  |  View All Articles  |  Resource Directory)

Are You Making the Most of Your Intern?


KEEPING INTEREST HIGH: Supervision is key to the success of the program. Interns like direction, but don't like to feel they are being constantly checked on. Even this small amount of direction, however, can take a great deal of time. It is important to be willing to set aside this time to give the intern direction. One method that seems to work calls for a briefing at the beginning of each day and a "where-do-we-stand?" briefing at its end. Throughout the day, the manager is on hand to answer any questions that might come up -- remember this is a learning experience! There should also be additional time set aside throughout the duration of the internship during which the manager receives feedback from the intern on his or her satisfaction with the assignment and suggestions for future directions. Equally important, interns should receive feedback on their progress. They need to know if they are performing to the manager's expectations. Additionally, many interns have chosen to keep diaries and time logs documenting their involvement. These can be reviewed at the conclusion of that person's internship.

MOTIVATION: It is important to understand what normally motivates interns. Interns want to feel as though they are a member of the team - partners with the staff. Staff members must understand this and accept the intern. Limiting intern assignments to routine, mechanical, or uninteresting tasks will also limit the program. Interns thrive on challenge and managers must have respect for their talents and capabilities. An intern wants to feel welcome but not prejudged. This can best be done on the part of the manager through the provision of a desk and telephone-and anything else that will make the intern feel comfortable. Likewise it is important for interns to know operational procedures, what the boundaries are, and the framework within which they must work.

INVOLEMENT: Interns need to have a sense of involvement in planning objectives. They need to feel that their ideas have had a fair hearing. The goals and objectives arrived at should be within reach and make sense to interns. Progress should also be observable to them, since one of the most motivating and exciting factors in an internship is having the feeling that one is making a difference. For this to be the case, they need to be trained to do the job they have undertaken. In addition, remember that everyone responds well to constructive criticism. Also, interns tend to think globally. They want to know not only the specific job they will perform and the scope of this job but also its relationship to other jobs.

Copyright AE Schwartz & Associates All rights reserved. For a free site to look for interns seeking internships: Internships4You and for a Free listing as a Trainer, Consultant, Speaker, Vendor/Organization: TrainingConsortium

CEO, A.E. Schwartz & Associates, Boston, MA., a comprehensive organization which offers over 40 skills based management training programs. Mr. Schwartz conducts over 150 programs annually for clients in industry, research, technology, government, Fortune 100/500 companies, and nonprofit organizations worldwide. He is often found at conferences as a key note presenter and/or facilitator. His style is fast-paced, participatory, practical, and humorous. He has authored over 65 books and products, and taught/lectured at over a dozen colleges and universities throughout the United States.


MORE RESOURCES:

News provided by Yahoo! News and Google News

Six small biz tips from a CEO who flies right - BloggingStocks

Six small biz tips from a CEO who flies right
BloggingStocks - Jan 4, 2009
Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) CEO, Jim McNerney, is managing a 159300 employee aircraft manufacturer with $66.4 billion in sales and $4 billion in profits (both ...

Apple Reworks iWork for Small Biz - bMighty.com

Apple Reworks iWork for Small Biz
bMighty.com, NY - Jan 6, 2009
Just about the biggest small-business news out of Apple at Macworld Expo — which opened today in San Francisco — is a whole lot of improvements to its iWork ...

26% of Small Biz Raises Ad Spend, Precipitating Online Growth - Marketing Vox News

26% of Small Biz Raises Ad Spend, Precipitating Online Growth
Marketing Vox News - 9 hours ago
97% of US small business owners are concerned about the economy, but 26% nonetheless plan to spend more on advertising — especially online. ...

Wage Increase Will Hit Some Small Biz Hard - NBC4i.com

Wage Increase Will Hit Some Small Biz Hard
NBC4i.com, OH - Dec 31, 2008
By Jason Mays Restaurants, such as Phillip’s Original Coney Island at 450 W. Broad St., will be hit hard by the increase. Owner Nick Manus said food prices ...

Smallbiz Brain Presents America’s Best Companies - PressReleasePoint (press release)

Smallbiz Brain Presents America’s Best Companies
PressReleasePoint (press release), India - Jan 7, 2009
Heard across the United States and in more than 80 countries, the Smallbiz America Network presents “The Smallbiz Brain” to introduce influential guests ...

Online, Direct to Grow as 26% of Small Biz Ups Ad Spending - Media Buyer Planner

Online, Direct to Grow as 26% of Small Biz Ups Ad Spending
Media Buyer Planner, MD - Jan 7, 2009
Though 97% of US small-business owners have some degree of concern about today’s dismal economy, 26% plan to spend more on advertising - especially online ...

US Celcos Urged To Create New Small-Biz Programs - Telecomweb

Small Biz: New shop strives for global connection - Online Athens

Small Biz: New shop strives for global connection
Online Athens, GA - Jan 3, 2009
Manager Tessa Anderson re-stocks shelves last week at the Earthbound Trading Co. in the Georgia Square Mall. A fairy statue sits on a shelf at the store. ...

Poll: 25% of small-biz owners worry about survival - Bizjournals.com

Poll: 25% of small-biz owners worry about survival
Bizjournals.com, NC - Dec 29, 2008
One in four small-business owners fear their companies may not survive the recession, says a poll conducted by the National Federation of Independent ...

home | site map | articles
© 2006